"This was the first time I had returned to this hotel in just over 20 years, I had visited many, many times since 1996 and had very fond memories. Whilst the hotel was looking a little tired in a few areas the overall experience was still as friendly and as good as I had always remembered.
The hotel looks as though it is slowly going through some refurbishment, from the outside front it looks great, the main Reception area has seen improvements which looked very nice, but there were wires showing in the corridors and the carpets looked as though they needed replacing. There were painters on site refurbing the ladies toilets off of the reception area and they were painting the outside of the building, I guess as April is technically still out of season this is the time for these works to take place ready for the summer.
The bedrooms looked fresh and were kept extremely clean, they had firm, yet comfortable beds with crisp linen. Our bathroom had a shower only with a sliding door but the tiling was original from when I used to visit many years ago. However, other members of my family had newly fitted bathrooms with modern shower and new tiling. Plenty of wardrobe space and drawers, a small safe and a fridge, which was useful to keep the bottled water provided nice and cold.
All of the staff we encountered were extremely friendly and helpful when needed from the Reception, Bar, Restaurant and Animation Team.
The restaurant had a varied range of food that would cater for all tastes, some days had more options than others, but overall, there was a good selection available that was always replenished and various stations where food was cooked to order. The Tunisian night was particularly good with lots of local dishes, the staff were always very nice and helpful, maybe sometimes being a little too keen to take away plates that were not completely finished.
The pool area was kept very clean and tidy with comfortable beds and mattresses and the pool attendant was always happy, friendly and accommodating with obtaining beds and shade. Likewise at the beach there was never a problem with obtaining a bed and the attendant, again, very friendly and helpful.
The all inclusive drinks were a little limited, only offering a minimum number of cocktails and wines but generally you could always find something to drink and there were plentiful bottles of water available.
The Animation Team were friendly and engaging, however, I would have preferred it if they tried to entice people to join in the activities in the afternoon only. In the morning it would have been nice to have a little peace and quiet with music playing softly, instead after around 10am the music was turned up way too loud with constantly being asked if you want to join the darts, water aerobics, stretching etc. Leave the loud music to the afternoon when people may be more encouraged to join in with the activities.
I was visiting with a large group of family and friends so we didn't engage with the evening activities, only visiting the American Bar a couple of times for Karaoke which was well run.
I booked to have my hair washed and blow dried in the Hairdressers, it was a very good price and the hairdresser (I didn't get her name) was fantastic, she did an unbelievable job on my hair, I would definitely recommend.
Overall we had a wonderful weeks holiday, this hotel has areas that could do with improvement but for the price it is fantastic value. I cant wait to return again, thank you Marhaba Beach for providing another great holiday."
